Tenchu: Silent Moon
by XxAyame of the AzumaxX
Summary: Takes place after tenchu 4. Ayame and Rikimaru have lost all trust for each other thanks to Onikage. so when two teens show up with their siblings requesting apprenticeship, can that alone help the two Azuma to recover their trust? whats this about a spell? ALERT: BEING REWRITTEN.
1. prologue

Me: Hey everyone, me again. this is my second story on this site and i am so excited to have it up so be happy with me.

Rikimaru(stepping into the room): Ayame-chan did you tell the readers the disclaimer yet?

Me: No, not yet Rikimaru-kun-

Rikimaru: then tell them, or do you want to be sued?

Me(sighing): _Fine_, _Okay_ (Turning to readers) i do not Own the Tenchu Series or characters.(Suddenly happy) But i do own Yuki, Tachibana and their siblings.

Rikimaru(Reading the story): Eh.....Ayame-chan?

Me: yes Rikimaru-kun?

Rikimaru: look right here(pointing to a paragraph in the story, looking a bit queezy)

Me(looking at paragraph): yeah, so what's wrong with it?

Rikimaru(horror-stricken): Am i Reading that right?

Me(knods): yes you are(slaps my hand over his mouth) But don't say anything it thats all the way in chapter two and thats a ways away!

Rikimaru:X_X (faints)

Me: Rikimaru? (pokes him with a stick)

Me: well read and review and tell me what you think while i try and get Rikimaru over here to come to.

* * *

Prologue: Part One

They were arguing again.

Rikimaru and Ayame had been doing that a lot since Sekiya's betrayal. The counsel had tried to pen the two Azuma ninja against each other and had nearly succeeded, shattering their trust for one another.

Rikimaru had later discovered that it was Onikage, a long time nemesis, and as always, the shinobi had chose to fight the demon himself. When he realized that he was losing, Onikage pulled the princess, Kiku, in front of him to use her as a human shield.

By her command, Rikimaru reluctantly pierced through her with his legendary sword, the Izayoi, to get to Onikage, Killing the demon and wounding her.

Ayame had never fully forgiven him for injuring princess Kiku. And that's why they were now arguing over who was going to keep night watch.

Ayame was winning.

"I'm tellin' you, I can keep watch tonight. You've already stayed up every night this week!" She stood with her hip shifting to the right and her right hand resting on it, the thumb on her other hand thrusted in her direction- her usual defiant posture.

Rikimaru sighed, running a large hand through his unusual, wind blown silver hair. It was impossible to argue with the kunoichi- she never gave up when it cam to a fight, whether it be verbal or hand-to-hand combat. It was quite the headache,

"Listen Ayame," he tried in a patient, reasoning tone like a parent would use on a defiant child, "I have too much energy to sleep as of now and you, on the other hand, have been dead on your feet worrying about Kiku-hime for the last few days… So I will keep watch tonight." He was being as patient as possible and that was proving to be difficult even for him.

The Kunoichi stomped her foot and placed her other hand on her left hip.

"You liar, _you're_ the one who's been dead on their feet, not me…what's wrong? Ever since Kiku-chan was injured you've refused to sleep even a wink and you won't let me keep watch!" She was confused for a moment before realization hit her, "You don't trust me." That realization felt like a slap to her face.

Rikimaru opened his mouth to protest but Ayame raised her Palm up to his face, silencing his words.

"Don't say a word…You don't need to…."She began to turn and walk away, but turned her head to the side, "Oh and Just so ya' know…The feeling's mutual." She crouched low then jumped and grabbed onto the branch of the tree they were standing under. She hung there limply for a moment before swinging nimbly to the branch in front of her, flipping onto it before disappearing from Rikimaru's sight.

~XXX~

Ayame was furious, not only with her partner, but with herself. How could a trust built up since childhood and strengthened by more than eight years of partnership shatter so easily?

She knew how. Onikage had done this; he had turned himself into Lord Goda's trusted counsel, Sekiya Naotada. But when had he done it is what Ayame wanted to know. Had he been fooling them all these years, gaining everyone's complete trust?

Ayame bounded from branch to branch, not caring where she was going. That snake Onikage had made Rikimaru and herself think the other was a traitor, he wanted to make them miserable and in the end he had succeeded.

The kunoichi halted on a thick branch and sat against the trunk. She was somewhere deep in the forest- but where?

~XXX~

Two teens ran as fast as they could while carrying their four siblings through the burning village. Yuki, a teenage girl and her older brother, Tachibana, along with their four younger siblings had lived with their parents in a hidden village on the border of Goda territory. It had been protected by the ninja in their village and a by a local priestess even before Yuki, fourteen, and Tachibana, fifteen, had been born. Nothing had ever happened up until today.

Somehow a man with crimson demonic markings all over his body that seemed to glow against his whitish-grey skin had breeched the barrier surrounding the village. Half of his face was shrouded by an onyx black cloak, so no one saw his eyes or hair. He carried a strange long-sword with a jagged, black blade that pulsed with demonic energy.

Yuki and Tachibana's mother was in front of them in an instant while their father had gone inside to retrieve his sword.

That's when the screaming started.

Now Yuki carried her infant sister in one arm carefully keeping her head covered from the ash while trying to keep her four year old brother, clinging tightly to her back. Tachibana, running next to her, carried both the three year old twin girls on his back.

They squinted in the smoke, "Chikara, cover your mouth and try to breathe as little as possible." Yuki instructed to the brother on her back. Tachibana turned his head to the side,

"Karin…Yusu, you two do the same, okay?" he felt the younge girls knod against the back of his shoulders. They saw the treeline only a few feet away and relief washed over them.

As his sister ran through the treeline, Tachibana looked back into the carnage and his face went pale. The demon was walking toward them as calmly as if he reading a haiku, his sword's blade dripping with crimson liquid. The teen ran through the treeline to Yuki who was standing, trying to catch her breathe,

"Yuki, run, _**NOW**_!" he commanded, running towards her. As he stopped next to her she looked at him with a mixture of surprise and terror in her silver eyes,

"But, brother…Why?" she began to stammer but her older brother grabbed her hand and took off running deeper into the forest.

"No time, just run….We've gotta lose `em!" Tachibana panted out, dragging his sister behind him, desperate to get them all to safety.

* * *

Me: Well i hope you enjoyed the prologue

Rikimaru(huddled in a corner):I did not read that, i did not read that, i did not read that....

Me: um....Rikimaru here will be back to normal in a short time, he's just in shock because he read ahead of everyone else when he wasn't supposed to(glares pointedly at Rikimaru).

(walks over to him and crouches in front of him)

Me: hey Riki, ya want some coffee?

Rikimaru:(shakes his head)

Me: ya want some chocolate?

Rikimaru:(looks at me sheepishly)

Me(smiling knowingly): ya want me to wear the chocolate?

Rikimaru:(stops rocking back and forth and knods his head slowly)

Me: okay. (stands up and faces the readers) stay tuned for the first chapter of Tenchu: Silent Moon-ACK!!

Me:(looks up at Rikimaru, who is now ontop of me holding the container of chocolate syrup) could you wait until the readers aren't looking?

Rikimaru:(smirking sexily down at me) No...

Me: um..uhh.. okay you guys tell me what you think and i'll get back to you guys-ah! STOP NIPPING AT MY NECK!!!


	2. Chapter one: Request

Me: HEY EVERYONE!! well as promised i have posted chapter one of Tenchu: Silent Moon soon and i hope to have chapter two up very soon.

Rikimaru: though thats only because you had it written already.

Me: _Riki-kun shhhhh!!!!!!!!_ No one needs to know my weakness so shut up.

Rikimaru(sarcastic tone): you have a weakness?

Me: Rikimaru shut it before i tell the nice readers what you say in your sleep(glares at him pointedly)

Rikimaru(narrowing his eyes at me): you wouldn't...

Me: oh but i would.

Rikimaru:you wouldn't dare..

Me: Try me.

Rikimaru(shrugging his shoulders): I'd rather not

Me(crossing arms over my chest): thought so.

Rikimaru: Please read and review and tell us how you like the first chapter so i can sleep at night.

* * *

Request

Rikimaru was feeling just about as low as the bottom of a pitfall trap right about now. It was true, he didn't trust Ayame as much as he used to. The incident had shattered their trust for one and other. He certainly didn't expect his partner to ever trust him again- after all, he had been the one to injure the princess so critically.

He had been forced to cut through Kiku-hime to get to Onikage- she even told him (Rikimaru) to do it. Rikimaru was brought out of his musings by a peculiar scent flittering across his senses.

_Smoke?_ What was burning nearby- wood and wild boar meat? Was someone cooking wild boar in the village?

The shinobi looked to the sky, expecting to see a tiny thread of smoke coiling in the blue sky over the Azuma village. He was surprised, even startled however, to see a thick, billowing tower of smoke and ash raising from the direction of the forest.

In the same direction Ayame had disappeared into quite some time ago.

~XXX~

Ayame stretched her arms out over her head with a sigh. She had been sitting there fro a long time now,

"What time is it, I wonder?" she asked herself, looking up at the sky. Clouds- was it about to rain? The kunoichi sniffed the air any traces of water in the atmosphere, but only caught the heady scent of smoke and something else. Wild boar meat roasting maybe?

No. The smoke in the air was to dark and there was way too much of it to be a simple campfire. A village must have been burning nearby. Ayame jumped down from her perch to investigate and was nearly ran over by two teenagers.

She barely managed to catch each one by a shoulder, "Whoa kids, watch where you're goin'." She growled out, annoyed. The mad expression, however, melted away when she took a good look at them. One teen was a girl with long pearl scent pink hair, her bangs were cut evenly across her forehead, framing her doll-like face. She had big, silver-grey eyes and she was covered from head to toe in ash. But what really caught Ayame's attention wast the little bundle wrapped in a yellow hoari- like a baby would be and the little boy on her back clinging to the red material of the girl's kimono on her shoulders.

The other teen was a boy, alittle older than the girl. This one had ashy grey, shoulder length hair pulled back in a ponytail at the base of his skull. He had the same silver-grey eyes as the girl and he too carried younger children- twin girls- on his back.

Ayame couldn't see the younger children's faces for they cowered behind the teens' shoulders. They were obviously terrified of something- but what?

The kunoichi looked up as a familiar ki brushed across her senses and her hazel eyes widened and her face paled upon recognition,

"Get behind me _**NOW**_! Go hide somewhere and stay there!" she nudged the kids behind her with that command and got into an offensive stance.

She narrowed her eyes at the figure, "Well Onikage, persistent and hideous as ever, I see" she sneered at her old nemesis.

Onikage snickered, "Ah, Rikimaru's whore…" he cooed mockingly, "I wonder how he would react if I placed a spell on the both of you?" his demonic voice sent chills down Ayame's spine.

In an instant he was pinned to a tree with Ayame's tanto in his abdomen,

"Strong little girl aren't you?" Onikage cooed again as is nothing had happened.

Ayame smirked, " heh…How can you cast a spell on the both of us if Rikimaru isn't even here?" she spat the question , pushing her blade deeper into the demon's abdomen.

Instead of wincing in pain, Onikage only smiled, "You might want to think again on that one….Even Rikimaru would have noticed the smoke by now and when he gets here, all I have to do is stab him to cast the spell"- he looked up then back down at Ayame-"Speak of the devil."

~XXX~

Rikimaru ran as fast as he could towards the smoke, not caring what he might find. He had been running for about twenty minutes before he saw some figures in the distance, crouching behind a large tree. As he got closer he could see that it was six kids, one of which was holding a crying infant. They began to crawl away from him and he stopped,

"It's alright, I won't hurt any of you…please… have you seen a woman with short brown hair….she wairing a really short purple skirt and a long sleeve purple top." He asked softly. The eldest girl with long pearl scent pink hair nodded her head,

"Y-yes sir," she said then pointed to right ahead of him, "over there…please help her…the demon that burned our village is fighting her."

Rikimaru nodded once, "Yes- don't worry…stay here….and thank you." He took off running again, drawing his sword. He darted into a small clearing and his eyes widened. He saw Ayame pinning none other than Onikage to a tree with her tanto.

His mind was reeling, Onikage was alive, but _how_ did he survive the _last_ time? Rikimaru had no time to act on it before Onikage threw Ayame off of himself and into Rikimaru's arms.

Everything seemed to speed up for the two Azuma. One millisecond, Rikimaru and Ayame are staring into each other's eyes and the next they're both impaled by Onikage's sword- the blade entering through Ayame's back and exiting through Rikimaru's.

But they felt no pain and they knew they weren't in shock so…What?

Then it dawned on Ayame- Onikage had cast the spell. Angrily she pushed Rikimaru backward, effectively withdrawing the blade from his body

"You bastard!" she snarled at the demon, "What kind of spell did you place on us?"

Onikage only chuckled, "Why is it so important for you to know?" that snake was mocking her!

"Because if you don't I will _**personally**_ castrate your sorry ass!" Ayame made sure to emphasize personally as she made the not-so-empty threat. Onikage only cackled evilly and shrugged his shoulders,

"well first of all, this spell works gradually over a set period of time… in other words, I choose how much time will pass before the spell kills you"- A mocking smile spread across his face-"This is where this little plan of mine came into play… If I couldn't get you two to kill each other when I made you believe the other was a traitor, then I could use your shattered trust against the both of you."

Ayame was getting impatient with the demon, "Out with it already! What kind of spell did you cast on me?" she snarled. Onikage only chuckled again,

"Impatient aren't we?... the only way to break my spell is with complete and total trust…If you can't trust each other then you by Winter… you die." Then he was gone-disappearing into thin air.

The gravity of the situation set in like a thick fog, clenching around their stomachs. If they couldn't learn to trust each other they would….Die?

Ayame's head snapped up suddenly, "Oh crap I almost forgot about them!" she blurted out. Rikimaru had to stop himself from jumping back in surprise,

"Them?" he asked thoroughly confused.

Ayame nodded her head, turning to the direction of the forest,

"Onikage was chasing some kids in the burning village. I told them to hide while I finished him off." Then she walked over to a large tree, looking behind it. Sure enough, all the kids were huddled together with tears in their eyes.

Ayame, with a softened gaze on her face, reached out a hand, "it's alright now. That man is gone, you can come out." She spoke in a gentle, maternal tone that contradicted her usual personality. The kids flinched away from her hand and that's when she heard it. An infant's crying- why hadn't she heard it before?

Rikimaru walked up to Ayame's side, removing his mask, "It's alright, we're not gonna hurt you, we promise." He spoke in such a fatherly tone that his partner couldn't help but stare as he held up his hand, "Ninja honor."

That seemed to do the trick. Slowly, one by one the kids stood up, huddling behind the two teenagers. Ayame crouched in front of the youngest boy. He had short, tossled silver-white hair and silver-grey eyes,

" Hey there little one, What's your name? Mine is Ayame." The child slowly let go of his sister's kimono to stand in front of the older woman,

"Ch-Chikara." He spoke shyly.

Ayame's eyes widened and she couldn't hide the smile that spread across her lips, "_Really_? Ya' know, I think I've heard that name before." She said in an equally surprised and matter of fact tone, trying to peg the toddler's interest.

Chikara didn't disappoint her; the curiosity shined in his pale eyes, replacing the shyness,

"_Reawy_..Who?" he asked his index finger in his mouth. Ayame nodded her head, jabbing her thumb over her shoulder in Rikimaru's direction,

"Uh-huh. You see that man behind me with the white hair?" she waited for the boy's nod, "_His_ name used to be Chikara before he got bigger and we had to change it to Rikimaru."

Apparently the two twin got curious just like their brother, "Really?" The one with her pale pink hair up in a high ponytail, wearing a green kimono and yellow obi asked. The other little girl kept quiet but the curiosity was evident in her big silver-grey eyes.

She, unlike her twin, left her _silver-grey_ hair down and she wore a yellow kimono with a green obi. Ayame and even Rikimaru could not help but think the girls were adorable. The shinobi knelt next to Ayame, offering the girls a smile,

"Yup. I used to be small just like Chikara when I was that age." He spoke in that same fatherly tone, " so what about you two. What are your names?"

Both girls smiled brightly at Rikimaru before each speaking one at a time,

"My name's Karin!" The twin with her hair up in a ponytail said brightly. The twin with the silver hair mimicked her sister,

"And my name's Yuzu!"

Ayame smiled at the two girls "What pretty names." She giggle then looked at the two teens, "What about you…What are your names?"

The teenage girl stepped forward hugging the infant closer to her, "My name is Yuki…This is our baby sister moegi and the boy behind me is the oldest brother-"

"Tachibana." The teeanage boy cut his sister off. He seemed distrusting and royally peeved with the two ninja.

Ayame stood up straight and slowly reached her hand for the small bundle in Yuki's arms,

"May I see her.. just to make sure that the smoke and fumes didn't harm her." She asked softly, halting her hand just a few inches from Moegi. Yuki nodded before handing the infant off to Ayame.

With surprisingly gentle movements, the kunoichi took Moegi into her arms. Holding her with one arm, Ayame moved the haori from the baby's head and face. Moegi immediately stopped whimpering and looked up at Ayame through squinted light blue eyes,

"So younge…" The kunoichi whispered sadly, "You're probably not even a month old aren't you little one?"

Yuki stepped up again, gripping the front of her kimono, "About four weeks next week Ma'am." She answered the question as calmly as she could.

Ayame nodded, looking at the teenager, "And how old are all fo you Yuki?" the way she asked the question made the girl want to run into the woman's arms and cry. But she composed herself instead and answered the question,

"I am fourteen years old, Tachibana is fifteen, Chikara is four years old, and Karin and Yuzu are both three ma'am."

Ayame nodded her head before looking down at Moegi, who was trying to suckle her breast through the violet material of her gi.

"looks like you're getting hungry, huh little one?" she spoke softly, gently tickling the baby's cheek.

Rikimaru appeared next to her as if out of no where, "It's getting late, we should get back to the village and get them some medical attention and food." He spoke while looking down at the hungry baby. Ayame nodded her agreement before she was interrupted by an angry Tachibana,

"_HELL NO!!_ how do we know you're not gonna kill us or force us into slavery?" he spat angrily, holding a kunai in his hand. As if it were pure instinct, Ayame brought the baby closer to her bosom protectively. Rikimaru shifted to where he was shielding Ayame with Moegi between them.

Yuki noticed the reaction and grabbed her brother's wrist, "Tachibana, stop. They're not our enemy." She spoke in a reasoning tone. Tachibana only growled,

"and how do you know, Yuki?"

The girl only pointed to the two ninja unconsciously protecting her sister, "Look how they're shielding Moegi and look how the others took to them so quickly…I think we should go with them."

Tachibana seemed to contemplate everything for a moment before sighing and placing the kunai back in his haori,

"Fine…But on one condition." He finally spoke, addressing the two Azuma.

Rikimaru relaxed his posture slightly, "oh? And what would that be?" he asked in his deep, smooth bass tone voice. The teenager squared his shoulders and lifted his chin in defiance,

"You teach me the ways of the ninja." He spoke with a hint of anxiety in his voice. The request took both Rikimaru and Ayame aback,

"What did you say?" the shinobi asked hesitantly. Tachibana knelt to the ground at their feet,

"please make me your apprentice!" he pleaded.

"Me too." They were _really_ surprised at Yuki's voice, "Make me an apprentice as well!" she knelt next to her brother on the ground. The two shinobi looked to each other for a moment before looking back to the two teenagers.

Ayame spoke first, "You do understand that you'll be trained to used as a _weapon_ whenever your employer pleases?" she asked and they nodded their understanding.

Sighed and looked down at Moegi again before closing her eyes and nodding her head once curtly, "Alright, we'll train you.. Now come on…Follow us." She commanded softly before turning her back to them and walking away.

Rikimaru followed suit, staying at Ayame's side. Yuki and Tachibana looked at each other before gathering up Chikara, Karin and Yuzu, and following obediently behind the shinobi.

* * *

Me: hey everyone, so how'd you like Chapter one: Request?

Rikimaru: could you keep it down!(holding an icepack to his head)

Me: SHUT UP!!!! if you wouldn't have gotten into the Jack Daniels you wouldn't have the head ache

Rikimaru(groaning): you shut up. living with you can drive even sesshomaru to drink until he's drunk off of his ass.

Me: oh quiet you, you're just upset because i won our little wrestling match.

Rikimaru(yelling): YOU DID NOT WIN, I _LET_ YOU WIN!!(groaning in pain) ohhhh.. my head

Me: please you were begging for me to stop.

Rikimaru(groaning in pain): I was not.

Me: oh? do you want a rematch to see who is telling the truth?

Rikimaru(plops down on my bed): No thank you i'm going to sleep.

Me(giggles): Okay people well Riki here is gonna need a cuddle buddy, and i'm gonna have to get started on Chapter two so stayed tuned. and please read and review.


	3. Chapter two: A New Turn of Events

Me: WHOO! Chapter two is finally up and my finger are hurtin'

Rikimaru(sitting next to me with a blind fold over his eyes): I'm still not looking at you until you finish chapter three.

Me(rolls my eyes): are you**_ still_** scarred from reading ahead of everyone?

Rikimaru(nodding his head): YES!! now let me know when you post Chapter three.

Me(Sighs pinching the bridge of my nose): Well if you would have read chapter three instead of being a big baby, you would have realized that when i'm done writin it, that it's gonna be worse than Chapter 2!

Rikimaru(yelling) WELL PARDON ME, I WASN'T EXPECTING YOU TO

Me(glaring at him): if you know whats good for you then you won't say another word to spoil the surprise for the readers!

Rikimaru(smiling devilishly at me): Oh really? then you'll get mad at me if i do this as a preview?(wraps his arms around my waist and presses his lips to mine)

Me:0_0

Kiku:0_0(turns away blushing red)

Red(Because i had to ^_^):0_0 GET A ROOM DON'T GO MAKING OUT IN FRONT OF THE KID *POINTS TO KIKU*

*Rikimaru doesn't even pull away, totally ignoring Red*

Yuki: Oh my.....

Tachibana: Now that's just gross. _

Red: you're tellin' me.

Chikara(tugging on Yuki's kimono): Sister, what are they doing?

Karin and Yuzu: Kimochi!!!!!!!!XD

Red: Okay read and review while we try to pull these two apart with a waterhose.

* * *

A new Turn of Events

It was sundown by the time the small party reached the front gates of the Azuma village. Ayame still cradled Moegi protectively in her arms and Chikara had found his perch atop Rikimaru's broad shoulders on the way there.

Now that they were finally to the village, the two ninja were trying hard to ignore the stares and hushed whispers echoing in their ears. An old woman suddenly skidded out in front of Ayame, waving her finger wildly at the kunoichi,

"Ha! You _see_-I knew you two had a secret you were trying to hide from everyone….So is the infant the newest edition?" she spoke in such a manner that would lead one to believe that the elderly woman was driven to lunacy over the years.

Ayame sighed disgruntled, "They're not ours, Pinacco. They're orphans, we're letting them live with us."-she walked past the woman-"Now if you'll excuse us, we need to find a wet nurse for Moegi."

The kunoichi tried to speak calmly, she really did, but that old bat was annoying! She was always trying to sell Ayame potions that would increase her chances of pregnancy- which she never used. Ayame couldn't even keep count of how many times Rikimaru would come back to their master's hut with enhancement potions that Pinacco had sold him in the past.

Pinacco clapped her hand on her fist triumphantly almost as she spoke, "I have something better." She announced, taking out a vile of blue liquid.

Ayame cut her off before she could even continue, quickly nudging the two teens along, "Come on we have to be going if we want to get home in time." She said in a hasty tone.

Pinacco was in front of them in an instant, "Wait! Just drink this potion and you won't even need the wet nurse." She exclaimed stretching her arms out as she spoke, blocking off the ninja's only normal exit.

Ayame shook her head, "Sorry, but…"

"I'll tell you what, I'll give it to you for free and you can drink it right here." Pinacco cut her off, pointing to the ground for emphasis while shoving the vile in Ayame's face.

The kunoichi sighed in defeat taking the vile in one hand, "Yuki come hold Moegi…No tellin' what this stuff'll do to me." She muttered the last part as the teenage girl took her sister. Opening the vile, Ayame gagged at the odor,

"Well here goes nothing'." She sighed before downing the bitter liquid in one go, Nothing happened, no dizziness, no nausea , nothing. She growled crossing her arms over her chest, "what's the meaning of this Pinacco?"

The old woman shrugged her shoulders, "Oh just a potion that gives you the ability to nurse a child without getting pregnant." She said in a casual tone.

The kunoichi scoffed, placing her hands on her hips, "Well that was a-OW!" she cried out as her breast began to throb in pain. Her hands flew to her chest to clasp her suddenly tender mounds but she jerked her arms back to sides in shock. She looked at the old woman, surprised.

Pinacco had a satisfied smile on her face, "_See_ my potions really do work. You should be able to nurse the child in about two hours."

Ayame shook her head, "This is not possible…it _can't _be." She muttered to herself, walking away, far ahead of the group.

Rikimaru looked thoroughly amused- he had to see this, he just had to. By the time they caught up to Ayame, she was sitting against a tree next to their old home and dojo. By her expression the shinobi could tell that she was in pain.

She had removed her kunoichi shizoku and the left the halter style brassiere, letting the cool air hit her chest through the thin material. He knew the cause of her discomfort without having to ask her, but her still couldn't stop the sense of alarm that gripped his stomach.

Sighing, he walked over to Yuki and gently took Moegi into his large, muscular arms. He walked over to his partner, stopping a few feet away from her,

"You five go inside and get comfortable in one of the rooms. Someone will send you supper shortly." The command was curt and they obeyed, piling into the old house.

Ayame looked up at him through pain-filled eyes, "W-what are you…Doing?" she barely managed to grind out between clenched teeth before gasping in pain.

Rikimaru, using one arm to hold Moegi, used the other to gently pry Ayame's arms from her chest,

"Here, this may help ease the pain." He gestured to the baby. Ayame took the infant gently into her arms, but could do nothing else as another wave of pain washed over her breasts.

Rikimaru brought his hand to the front clasps that confined her swollen mounds but stopped midway as she flinched away,

"Let me help you." He whispered gently, but the kunoichi only shook her head,

"No…I can…handle-AH!!" she suddenly cried out as another pain hit her hard.

Rikimaru fell to his knees as his abdomen began to throb with an unexplainable- right where Onikage had stabbed he and Ayame earlier.

Ayame was nearly arching off of the tree in pain from the spell and the potion, "Ayame you have to trust me. We have to learn to trust each other if we're going to live to see Winter." He whispered hoarsely through the thick haze of pain, placing his hand on hers, "And I can see it in your eyes that you wish to raise those children as your own and I wish to help you as much as possible."

After a moment Ayame nodded and the pain almost instantly dispelled. Rikimaru hurried to unclasp the two front clasps and turned around to give the kunoichi some privacy.

He felt the night's chill on his face and he turned to Ayame again; she was looking down at Moegi as she nursed. She actually looked like a real mother and the fact that the infant had silver-white hair and light blue eyes that would surely turn silver-grey just like his own would raise a lot of question from the villagers.

Shaking the thoughts away, he focused on the task at hand: getting Ayame inside without disturbing Moegi. At the kunoichi's sudden glare, Rikimaru realized that he had been staring,

"And what are you staring at exactly?" she asked, obviously annoyed.

The shinobi sighed, scratching the back of his head, "Sorry, I'm just trying to find out a way to get the both of you inside without disturbing her." He cocked his chin towards Moegi. He had thought about supporting her so they could walk to the building, but after seeing how Ayame's legs would buckle when Moegi would latch on made him change his mind.

There was only one way then: he'd have to carry her inside. He sighed again,

"Okay, hold onto Moegi and stay calm." Ayame looked at her partner confused before she was lifted into his arm almost effortlessly.

She yelped in surprise and tightened her hold on the baby, "Rikimaru, what are you doing?!" she yelled, then quieted down when Moegi jumped.

"Bringing you inside so you don't freeze out here."

"I can walk ya' know!" she began struggling.

Rikimaru tightened his hold on her, "Stop moving. Every time she latches on your knees buckle…I'm not about to risk you dropping her." He spoke as calmly as possible.

Ayame growled, "I won't drop her- now put me down!"

"No!"

"Why are you doing all of this anyway?!"

Rikimaru stopped right at the foot of the porch steps, "Because I'm trying to show you that you can trust me." He began walking again.

"Why should I trust you when you don't even trust me not to drop a baby?!" they were yelling now as Rikimaru set her on her feet at the front door before answering,

"Because I don't want to see you die by Onikage's spell and I don't plan on dying either." Then he was out of the door, slamming it closed behind him.

Ayame stared after him, shocked; he hadn't lost his temper or spoken that coldly to her since they were younger. At the corner of her eye, she saw Yuki and the other kids peeking around a corner to her right.

Sighing, the kunoichi switched Moegi over to the left breast before huffing indignantly and walking off to find a servant that could help her. Ever since the incident, Lord Goda and Kiku had been staying there in Ayame and Rikimaru's old home. He had brought the surviving servants and guards to help around.

~XXX~

Yuki and Tachibana looked at each other long after they had witnessed the fight. They had just met the ninja but they couldn't help but be worried. They knew about the spell and it was obvious they weren't going to learn to trust each other before winter got here.

They were already in Early to Mid-autumn. Now the siblings knelt in a circle in one of the bedrooms trying to come up with a plan. Yuki seemed to think for a moment,

"Well the best thing we can do is to get them together…but how?" she spoke more to herself than to her siblings but they all heard. Tachibana nearly jumped out of his seat,

"I get it!" he burst out then huddled his siblings together to discuss the plan.

~XXX~

Meanwhile Ayame had finally found some servants and really didn't have to ask for assistance. As soon as they caught sight of her, they stopped what they were doing and stared at her for a moment before scrambling over to her,

"Ayame but…How?!" one stuttered

"But that's a…" another stuttered

"But you weren't…How can you?" the first one stammered again.

Ayame sighed, "Kaname, Shizune…I really can't explain, but the baby's not mine."

Shizune- the first servant- looked to Kaname-the second servant- and they nodded amongst each other before running out of the room.

Ayame was standing in the room for a moment before the young servant girls came back in with the elder healer, Naomi.

The old woman has been a healer at Goda Castle even before Ayame was brought there as a child. That woman had patched Rikimaru and herself up on more than one occasion.

Except for one detail…

"Ah…so you finally took my advice and settled down…you even had a baby." Naomi chided in a raspy voice. She was trying to get Ayame pregnant just like all the other old coocks in the village! Besides that, she was great- she gave great advice on _everything_.

Ayame let out a sigh, laughing nervously, "Actually Naomi…She's not mine. She and her older siblings were being chased out of their burning village." She tried to explain her situation but Naomi decided to be stubborn. The happy look dissolved, replaced by a confused look,

"What do you mean? I can see the infant nursing from you as clear as I can see my hand in front of my face." She held up her hand for emphasis. She looked at Moegi for a moment before a smile broke out on her wrinkled face,

"Ah…so I see you chose Rikimaru to sire your child…Good choice…she will be a very dangerous force as a ninja."

Ayame sighed again, "Listen Naomi, she's _NOT_ mine. Her siblings are in a room resting. Pinacco gave me a potion that would allow me to nurse instead of finding a wet nurse like someone with a lick of common sense would do." Supporting her head, Ayame put Moegi on her shoulder and began patting her back.

Naomi observed the kunoichi and smiled at the sight, "You look like a real mother. You have all the maternal instincts,"-she placed her hands on her hips-, "Now what do you need this old bat to do?"

"I need you to make sure everything's okay. For the four year old and the three year old twins as well."

Naomi sighed, "Alright, give me the infant and go the retrieve the others…Bring them here." The old healer took Moegi and allowed Ayame to dress.

The kunoichi reclasped her brassiere and slipped her shizoku gi back on before going to the hall where she had last seen them. Sure enough she saw their silhouettes in the shogi door of the third room down the hall,

"Hey Chikara, Karin, Yuzu, can you three come with me so a healer can look at you. Just to make sure everything is okay. Yuki, Tachibana I'd like you two to come as well." She said through the paper screening.

Five little shadows all stood up one by one and the shogi door slid open to reveal a very distrusting Tachibana.

She looked down at all of them, save the teenagers who were almost taller than her.

~XXX~

Outside Rikimaru sat up in a tree branch with one leg pulled up to his chest and the other dangling off of the tree limb. He draped one arm over his bent leg and just stared up at the crescent moon that was rising into the darkening sky, thinking.

His thoughts were roiling around in his mind, asking him questions:

Why had he said that?

What had possessed him?

He really couldn't answer those questions very effectively, all he knew was that for once in his life…He was really, truly afraid. Afraid of Death and of dying at twenty-seven, and afraid of Ayame dying at her age.

She was even younger than himself at twenty-three. Ever since their childhood, they had been taught to understand that as ninja, they had to accept the possibility that they might die at a young age.

Tatsumaru's death had been a prime example of that lesson. He had been the Azuma shinobi ryu ninja clan's leader until Kagami had attacked. They had battled and on a eroding cliff in pouring rain, when the cliff gave out, plunging them into the cold black waters below.

Everyone assumed he was dead for months and everyone took hard. Ayame, who had watched the battle, took it the hardest. She completely ignored Rikimaru for the whole two months until Tatsumaru turned up again.

She had been overjoyed to know that he was alive, until her hopes were crashed again when he couldn't remember anything or anyone from his life before the incident. He had become an enemy of the Azuma, the very clan he had sworn by oath to serve and honor.

Kagami had turned him into one of her 'Lords of the Burning Dawn', Seriyu. He had obeyed her orders to kill the former leader of the Azuma clan and his former master, Azuma Shiunsai.

Rikimaru had rushed to his master's aid but had been too late. Shiunsai was already on the verge of death. Anger and grief coursing through his veins, Rikimaru engaged his older sibling in battle. The bout had been short, Tatsumaru being the loser, escaped slashing his younger brother's eye.

Rikimaru sighed at the memory, brushing his fingertips over the scar on his right eye,

"Nine years." That's how long it had been. He had been eighteen and Ayame only fourteen, yet they've been through so much. They had built up trust between each other for nine years. Trust that would have taken two of Mei-oh's armies to break. Trust that Onikage had shattered all in one night.

And now Goda Castle was under repair and Kiku-hime was critically injured. Rikimaru cursed under his breath,

"How did all of this happen? How were we all fooled?" he asked himself bitterly.

The whole situation angered the shinobi; he couldn't detect Onikage's plan until it was too late. He allowed the bastard go cast a spell on him, and now he couldn't even get control over his emotions!

Footsteps in the grass below snapped him out of his reveling.

Lord Goda walked up to the tree, scratching his temple, looking thoroughly confused,

"Anything wrong, my lord?" Rikimaru asked the Daimyo.

Goda nodded his head slightly, "Well it's not serious…it's just…I could have sworn that I just saw Ayame nursing an infant with silver hair….just like yours."

Rikimaru chuckled softly, "Allow me to explain the to you, my lord." And he did. He explained the situation with the children and the situation with the spell. By the time he was done, Goda was nodding with his arms crossed in understanding,

"I see…seems like you've been through a lot-the both of you." The Daimyo commented.

Rikimaru nodded his head, "Yes and the two oldest siblings wish for Ayame and I to train them to be ninja."

"well training them may help revive the ninja in the Azuma clan…you and Ayame are the only two ninja left and unless you two can learn to trust each other by winter- which is two months away- there won't be any ninja left in the village."

~XXX~

Naomi stared at the three toddlers in complete shock. They all looked like they could be Rikimaru's children- even the girl with the _pink_ hair! Shaking her head the old woman smiled down at the little boy,

"And what, by chance, is your name lad?" she asked gently.

The little boy cocked his head to the side, "Chikara." His answer nearly threw Ayame backwards. One of them even had the same name that Rikimaru used to go by!

Ayame was having a hard time holding in bouts of laughter that wanted to spill forth as she watched the old medicine woman's reactions- they were priceless. Ayame was thoroughly amused at how Naomi's eyes would widen as she examined them.

The kunoichi thought she was going to choke on her laughter, when Naomi decided to get some revenge,

"so Ayame, how are things with you and Rikimaru going along?" She asked sending the children with Kazumi and Shizune back to their rooms

The kunoichi sighed with a smirk, "Nothing ever escapes you, does it Naomi?" she commented before her face took on a somber expression,

"Not good. Rikimaru and I only have two months to learn to trust each other or else a spell Onikage place on us will kill us." She looked down at the floor, "and things aren't looking good…we had two fights today and they were pretty bad."

Naomi gave Ayame a sympathetic gaze, "Have you both tried apologizing to each other yet or have you tried helping each other out?" she asked in a maternal tone of voice.

The kunoichi blushed, "W-well…no we haven't apologized to each other.. but he _did_ help me today."

"oh? With what?"

Ayame's blush deepened, " well, um…he help me nurse Moegi." She spoke the last part as fast as she could.

The older woman quirked a brow at the twenty-three year old, "What did he help with exactly?" she asked suspiciously.

"Just to unclasp my brassiere and help Moegi latch on."

"Ah…I see." Naomi said calmly, then her eyes nearly popped out of her head when the words registered, "What?! Well then there's still a chance to get that trust back again!"

Ayame shook her head, "Naomi… I don't think there's a chance of getting what we had back in just two months."

Naomi stuck her hand in the kunoichi's face, "that's where you're wrong child, I heard from some of the servants that you and Rikimaru agreed to train the two teenagers, correct?"

"Yes…And? What does that have to do with anything?"

The old woman sighed with a smile cracking her face, "Don't you see? By training those youngsters, you and Rikimaru will learn to trust each other again." She looked at Ayame who had her head bowed.

Naomi walked over to her and tilted the kunoichi's chin up, "who knows you might just become closer." Then she walked off.

~XXX~

Rikimaru stayed up on his branch even after Goda went inside for the night. Now he had even more to think about, like how he was going to get Ayame to trust him. He didn't move as someone walked up to the tree,

"Are you okay?" a familiar feminine voice asked gently. He looked down at Ayame and nearly choked-was he seeing that right? Below him, his partner was dressed in a dark purple ankle length kimono with light purple lavender and cherry blossom designs printed on the material the disappeared under the gold obi. The cherry blossoms seemed to blow over her chest and back and the lavender trimmed the hemline of the sleeves and skirt.

He had to admit, his partner could look like a normal woman when she wanted to, even with her short hair.

Rikimaru nodded his head again, "Yes…And you?" he asked, a worried tone in his voice.

Ayame gave a cocky smile and rolled up her sleeve, flexing her arm, "Me? Sure! Isn't the first time I've lost temper or had someone yell at me." Her cocky and defiant attitude had always kept the days interesting when they were in training and especially when they were first dubbed as ninja.

Rikimaru nodded his head, chuckling, "Yes, you are right."

Ayame chuckled a little bit before her joking expression turned somber,

"Rikimaru, I got to thinking…" she began some-what nervously, fumbling with her kimono sleeves.

The shinobi quirked his eyebrow and jumped down from the branch, landing silently on his feet in front of his partner,

"Go ahead…you can trust me." He said, leaning against the tree with his crossed over his chiseled chest.

"Actually, um…that's what I wanted to talk about"-she ran her hand through her hair and sighed-"I want to trust you. But…I'm _afraid _to."

Rikimaru's brow furrowed in confusion, "Why are you afraid to trust me?" At his question, tears welled up in Ayame's eyes and she had to take a deep breath before answering,

"Because, back then…when you thought that I was the traitor, you didn't hesitate in trying to kill me…Like Tatsumaru did when he lost his memory and thought I was the enemy…"Ayame looked up at Rikimaru with teary eyes, "Both times hurt just the same…But when _you and I_ fought, my trust died inside."

Her words clicked in Rikimaru's mind: _Both times hurt just the same._

Tatsumaru's betrayal had hurt Ayame more than anything because at the time, she had been in love with him. So did what she just said mean that she loved Rikimaru now?

The shinobi stored that information in his memory and looked to his partner.

She was trying hard to hold back her sobs, the only evidence of her crying was the rapid jerking of her shoulders.

"Ayame…" he spoke her name softly, "I had tried to tell you that you and Kiku were safe and I even asked if I could ask you a question." His tone was reasonable as he spoke.

His hands seemed to move of their own accord, cupping Ayame's tear stained cheek, "When you attacked me…I had to defend myself. I had hit you with only the blunt end of the blade so I could make sure that I wouldn't kill you." His eyes suddenly glazed over in sorrow, "It had hurt when you believed so quickly…so _easily_ that I was the traitor."

Ayame's vision was swimming with her tears. This side of Rikimaru that she rarely saw; a soft, compassionate side that contradicted greatly to his cold, merciless side. Whe he cupped her cheek, she very nearly broke into a thousand little pieces.

But circumstances affecting her instincts wouldn't allow it. He was giving her a chance to release all of her pent up emotions and she couldn't take it. She saw the sincerity in his silver-grey eyes, and that made her feel safe.

Rikimaru took a step toward her and she backed out of his reach on reflex,

"Rikimaru I-I'm sorry…I'm still afraid." She tried to amend softly.

The shinobi nodded his head in understanding, "It's fine, building trust takes time-."

"Which we don't have." Ayame interjected.

Rikimaru nodded again, "Yes I know. That's why I think training Yuki and Tachibana will help with that and to gain trust just between us, we can both keep night watch."

"to do what?"

"Well, I can't really explain it. But lets say I do this,"- the shinobi cupped the kunoichi's cheek with his hand again,- "tonight, and every night I'll do something different according to how well you trust me- the same goes for you."

Ayame nodded her head slowly so not to shake his hand off of her cheek, " I see…so we'll try to strengthen our trust during the day and then test each other's trust at night."

Rikimaru nodded his head as well, "_Exactly_, _Now _you're getting it." He said in an approving tone.

"But wait, won't the villagers start to ask questions?"

"Yes, but what else have we got to fall back on?"

"Ya' got a point there."

They both chuckled softly before Ayame's face took on a grave expression, "So what are we gonna do about Onikage?" she asked.

Rikimaru's expression also sobered at Ayame's question, "We can't do much now except try and keep an eye on him…for now we need to focus on breaking the spell." He replied seriously then looked to their childhood home,

"We start their training at dawn." Ayame nodded her head in agreement,

"Agreed…so what do we do until then?" she asked, shifting her weight into one hip and resting her hand on it.

The silver-haired shinobi only chuckled again, "Well you can go to sleep. I'm sure you're tired from your encounter with Onikage today."

The kunoichi shook her head at her partner's offer, "Nope, not at all…_you _can go to sleep- you haven't slept at all in a whole week or more."

Rikimaru shook his head, "No…I myself am not tired as well."

Ayame smiled coyly at her partner, "then I guess we're stuck with each other." In reality, the kunoichi enjoyed the twenty-seven year-old's could only guess that it may be a result of their childhood.

They would do almost every thing together and when Shiunsai would make them do something separate, Ayame would be miserable until her master brought Rikimaru back.

She chuckled. That was when she went by the name Omon and Rikimaru went by the name Chikara, before they were official ninja.

As ninja, Tatsumaru, Rikimaru, and herself went on all of their missions together. She barely hid her infatuation for the eldest of the brothers, but she completely concealed her feelings for Rikimaru.

When Tatsumaru disappeared, then came back evil and killed himself two months later, it had really hurt. She'll admit now that every time Rikimaru would go on a solo mission, she would worry about him, and she still did now that they were in their middle to late twenties.

To put it simply, Ayame had been in love with her partner since they officially became Azuma, but she still kept it hidden.

The number one rule of being an Azuma ninja was that under no circumstances, _what-so-ever_ could a ninja fall in love with another ninja, let alone their partners.

Shiunsai had made that rule and it had stuck, even after his death.

Again she felt stupid; she had buried these feelings for well over nine years- why were they starting to surface now? She had already told him a little bit of her heart's innermost feelings- what else was she going to say? _Rikimaru, I've been madly in love with you for nine years now._

Ayame scoffed, he would probably look at her like she had a terminally viral disease or something.

Rikimaru noticed her sudden silence and could only interpret it as worry. With a softened gaze, he place his hand on Ayame's shoulder,

"Don't worry Ayame, we'll get through this….Alive." he attempted to reassure her. She looked up at him then and as her hazel gaze met his silver eyes, the shinobi's mind backpedaled. Why did he do that- or better yet- _what_ had possessed him to do that?

He had tried to reassure he plenty of times in the past, but what was that feeling that passed through him every single time?

He had gotten this fluttering in his chest only a few times; once when they first became ninja and Ayame's nerves had gotten the better of her. Then a second time, the year before when Kimaira had kidnapped Kiku.

Rikimaru had been assigned to the rescue mission and had to reassure Ayame- who was worried more than any of them combined- by promising to bring Kiku back quickly and safely.

Each time had gotten that feeling, but it had never been as prominent as it was now. When he brought himself back to reality, Ayame was still staring up at him almost expectantly- but what was she expecting him to do?

They were snapped out of their trances as Ayame swollen breasts began to throb painfully,

"Ah!" she cried out, dropping to her knees, hugging her chest.

Rikimaru was at her side instantly, gripping her shoulders gently, "Ayame, are you okay….should I get Moegi?" he asked worrily, gently squeezing her shoulders.

She took a few deep breathes and stood up, "No, I'm fine. I guess I'll go ask Naomi fro something to and go to bed." She said, walking to the door then turned back to her partner half way,

"Wake me up in a few hours so we can spar before we teach Tachibana and Yuki." Then she went inside after a curt nod from Rikimaru.

The shinobi jumped back up into his tree, sitting on his branch to keep watch…

* * *

Me: okay everyone sorry about that little...scene...earlier. so anyway, tell me what you guys thought about Chapter two and i'll have chapter three up as soon as i'm done writing it. :D

Rikimaru(laying in a corner with a bloody nose and a black eye): ugh.....X_X

Me: well if you're wondering what happened to him. me and Red teamed up on him when he finally pulled away for air.

Red(disgruntled): the water hose didn't work and neither did the crowbar.

Me: i could have told you that those things weren't gonna work(ringing water out of my skirt)

Red: then why didn't you?!

Me: because i was otherwise...occupied to say much of anything.

Red: yeah, well. shouldn't we be going?

Me: Oh!! yes we should, i need to get started on Chapter three and i have those other stories that i'm working on.(slings Rikimaru's arm over my shoulder)

Red(sighing): lets just go please.

Me(smiling): Okay, everyone please review this chapter and tell me what you think! siyonara(sp?)


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